


My Heart Dances

by niallhoranbitches



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mostly Fluff, started with a prompt and here we have almost 3k
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallhoranbitches/pseuds/niallhoranbitches
Summary: Based on a dialogue line prompt: “I didn’t get soaked wet through walking to your house for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too. I know you’re sad, so let me in.”
Relationships: Tom Holland/Niall Horan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	My Heart Dances

**Author's Note:**

> OK so. I just want you to know that it’s the first thing I’ve written in... a while. A looong while. Also since you haven’t include a ship, I let myself write NiallTom for the first time ever. I’ve been lowkey obsessed about them for a while and tried to write a fic but got stuck and I wanted to at least do a prompt for them. Also somehow it turned out to have almost 3k. So you see how many things could go wrong with this thingy (and they probably did). Sorry.

Since Harrison escorted him to his home and planted him on the couch, Tom hasn't moved an inch. In his defence, he was ordered not to walk if he didn't have to. For the last two hours or so he's been dozing off and stirring himself awake every few minutes. The pain isn’t so bad, but it still makes him wince if he moves the wrong way. Tom is glad that Haz listened to him earlier, when Tom asked his friend to leave as soon as he was safely placed on the sofa. Maybe there was more snapping at his poor friend who just wanted to help, than there was polite asking, but Tom had the right to be bitchy. What he needs now is to be miserable and alone. Or well, not exactly alone, since Tessa is curled up next to him on the tiny couch. With her snout on his stomach, she hasn't moved since Tom stumbled home. 

His eyes start to drop again and he feels like this time the tiredness will finally win. But there is a small knock at the door. Tom blinks, letting out a small sigh and Tessa raises her head, looking across the room. After giving it a moment of thought, Tom decides to ignore whoever’s on the other side. It’s probably Harrison. If ignored for too long, his friend will probably let himself in with the spare key Tom gave him at some point.

A minute passes and there’s more knocking and then a voice that makes Tom’s heart skip a beat. “Tom? Come on, I know you’re there.”

Tessa lets out a happy bark and runs towards the door, her nails scraping on the floor.

“Hello, Tess,” Niall says through the door. “Can you please go and drag him out of bed for me? I know he listens to you, pretty girl.”

Tessa barks in response, jumping at the door and then runs back to Tom. Her big eyes are trained on him as she lets out a single bark that sounds a bit demanding. It actually makes Tom chuckle under his breath.

Another soft knock is followed by Niall’s, “Please, Tom. I know what happened, Harrison told me.”

Tom only sighs and rubs at his forehead. He knew that Niall would worry and he also knew that Haz will be rubbish at keeping his mouth shut. It’s not really like Tom didn’t want Niall to know what happened. But the more Tom thought about it, he realised that he may have overreacted a bit. After all, it is only a mildly sprained ankle and Tom will be back on the dancefloor soon enough. But it also is the worst possible time for any injury. So he had all the rights be overly emotional and full on crying when he stumbled into the pub next to his dance studio. Tom just hoped he’d quickly find Harrison and ask his friend to drive him to the hospital. But of course it was Niall who has spotted him first. He basically run around the counter, ignoring the customer and within a second he was putting his arm around Tom, leading him toward the nearest chair. Tom was in too much pain - both physical and emotional - to answer any of Niall’s questions and he just asked if he could get Harrison. Then they left and Tom didn’t even say goodbye, which was kind of a dick move since Niall was obviously worried.

It was shit to learn that you’ll probably lose your first role in the bloody English National Ballet production due to an injury. It was also shit to be seen by the man you fancy while your are covered in your own tears and probably some snot as well.

So Tom may be a bit embarrassed and he isn’t sure if he is ready to face Niall yet. Or anyone.

Tessa barks at him once more, apparently disappointed in his behaviour. She toddles around back to the door where Niall is still tapping in some rhythm. Persistent, that one, Tom thinks and can’t stop a small smile that appears on his face.

“Come on, babe. I didn’t get soaked wet through walking to your house for you to say no to pizza. I have beer too. I know you’re sad, so let me in.”

Niall’s voice is soft and sweet and Tom knows he’ll give up in a second or two. He’s not heartless, after all. And all his dignity has already been lost, so he probably can’t embarass himself any further. 

There is a slightly bigger, more muffled thud, which - Tom guesses - can be Niall resting his head against the door and then he says, “You know that I won’t go away, so you could just let me in.”

Biting at his lower lip, Tom carefully slides off the couch. Trying not to hurt his ankle any more, he reaches for the crutch abandoned beside the couch.

He guesses he might’ve made some noise, because on the other side of the door there’s an excited gasp as Niall says, “Can it be, Tessa? Did we make it?! I knew you’re my only hope to get that silly git moving!”

Tom shakes his head at that, but he’s smiling. “Don’t insult me, Niall. It will take awhile for me to get there, so I still have plenty of time to change my mind.”

“I’m glad you’re better, love,” Niall laughs and Tom ignores the somersault his insides do at the pet name. He got used to the fact that Niall’s affectionate like this with everyone.

When he finally manages to stumble close enough to unlock the door, he’s a bit winded. Which is embarrassing considering that his studio is basically one open room with a living room/bedroom and a kitchenette/hall combo. Even these dozen steps he had to make can be a challenge when one of your legs are useless.

It was worth it, Tom decides when he is rewarder by Niall’s bright smile. He really is soaking wet, his eyes are soft and filled with worry when he looks at Tom and his smile is warm and genuine. Tom is too preoccupied by staring at Niall’s face to notice that he is holding a huge box of pizza in one hand and a bunch of beers in the other. Tessa, on the other hand, seems much more interested in the smell of salami that came with the guest than in the guest himself. Niall grins down at her when she rests his paws on his belly, trying to reach the box.

“Yeah, I’m glad to see you too, girl. If you’d let me in, I promise to share the treats,” Niall says, raising the box out of her reach.

“Shit, sorry. Lemme just...” Tom says, reaching out to take the things from Niall.

Quite quickly it turns out that it wasn’t the wisest idea. When Tom loosens his grip on the crutch, it slips out of his hand and falls onto the floor with a loud clatter. Trying to catch it, Tom wavers slightly and accidentally puts too much pressure on his ankle. He lets out a yelp of pain and grabs at Niall’s arm, already ready to steady him.

Somehow Niall has managed to free his hands in those few seconds and one of his arms is already placed gently around Tom’s waist. “I’ve got ya,” Niall says with a small smile.

Tom feels lightheaded but he blames it on the burst of pain in his leg and not on the little dimple on Niall’s cheek. Niall completely ignores Tom’s objections and leads him back to the couch. A few moments later the small table in front of him is stacked with plates, pizza, beer and two steaming mugs of tea. Tom himself is pushed against the back of the couch, his leg put gently on a chair with a cushion to make sure he’s comfortable and with something frozen wrapped in a kitchen towel pressed to his swollen ankle. A small sigh of relief escapes his mouth as he closes his eyes for a moment and relaxes into the couch.

“Thank you,” Tom says sincerely, looking up at Niall.

Niall only shrugs, the soft smile still on his lips. It’s only then that Tom realises Niall’s hair and shirt are still damp from rain and he wants to smack himself across the head.

“Damn, I’m sorry, you must be so uncomfortable in those. Let me just—,” he makes a move to stand up, hoping he can do it with some grace.

“Na-ah,” Niall stops him. “Don’t move, you have to rest your leg. Just tell me what can I change into and I’ll manage.”

A moment later Niall comes out of the bathroom, drying his hair with the towel Tom told him to take. The shirt he picked is stretching slightly across his broad chest and Tom tries not to stare. He takes a deep breath and looks at the opposite wall when Niall drops onto the couch next to him, Tessa already nudging him to get some snuggles.

“Thank you,” Tom says after a moment. He glances at Niall and sees that he is ready to shrug it off again so he continues, “No, really. You didn’t have to come all this way in the downpour just to make sure my pathetic ass is okay.”

“You’re not pathetic, don’t even say that,” Niall says, with more seriousness that Tom expected.

“Well I  _ did  _ sprain my ankle just before my biggest life chance and I  _ did _ weep because of it,” Tom tries to joke and he hates that his eyes prickle just at the mention of it.

Niall moves on the couch so he can face Tom. “That’s not pathetic, Tom,” he says, squeezing Tom’s arm. “I’m so sorry it happened to you and if I were in your place I would bawl my eyes out.” When Tom only snorts and shakes his head slightly, Niall adds. “Totally would! Remember when I told you about that first time I was asked to play in a pub downtown but lost my voice literally a day before? It wasn’t even a proper gig and I cried like a baby when it didn’t work out.”

Tom nods a bit absent-mindedly. “Glad there were plenty of more opportunities for you.”

He doesn’t mean to sound bitter or crabby but he’s afraid he does, a bit. Not daring to look at Niall, he focuses his eyes on his hands resting on his hips.

“Tom.”

The way Niall says his name is gentle yet firm enough to make Tom look up. Niall’s arm slides up Tom’s arm and rests on his shoulder, Niall’s thumb resting against his collarbone.

“You’re gonna have tons of chances, too. I know how huge it is for you and I’m so proud and happy you’ve got a part. It fucking sucks that you might not be able to take it. But there’s still time before rehearsals start. And the whole world is waiting for you after you recover, because you’re an incredible dancer and nothing will change that.”

Tom feels his face going warm and he wants to turn his gaze away, to hide it, but he can’t. There’s something in the way Niall’s eyes are looking at him that makes him pinned to the spot.

“You just have to take care of yourself and rest, and let your ankle heal properly. And you can bloody bet I’ll keep an eye on you to make sure you’re taking it easy.” Niall points a cautionary finger at him, making Tom laugh. “Then you will be able to go conquer the world, be the famous ballet master that you deserve to be and forget all about your wanna-be musician friend.”

Niall is still grinning at him, but Tom shakes his head, amazed.

“Not happening,” he says with a smile.

“Totally happening! Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet - they’re all gonna fight for you!”

“That is…,” Tom furrows his brows and chuckles. “An interesting, yet quite improbable image. But I didn’t mean that. I meant the part about forgetting you.”

Niall’s smile flatters. “Oh?” he lets out.

“How could I? You’re… so much more than a wanna-be musician friend to me.”

With pride, Tom notices that this is Niall’s time to be flustered and blushing. He feels as if a wave of warmth is spreading through his body from where Niall’s thumb gently caresses his collarbone and it takes all his willpower to suppress a shudder. Tom watches as Niall takes a deep breath and swallows, before he glances back at Tom, just for a moment, and then turns his head.

“You know…,” Niall starts, as if he’s considering something. “It really sucks that you’ve just sprained your ankle.”

Tom furrows his eyebrows, a bit confused at this statement. He chuckles to release some tension that has built up in him and asks, “You think?”

“Yeah, cause— For quite a while I’ve been trying to work up the courage and maybe, you know… ask you out on a date or something,” Niall says trying to keep his tone casual like they’re discussing the weather. Tom’s heart is beating too loud for him to pick up the shaky note in the apparent coolness. “You not being able to walk kinda complicates things.”

Staring wide-eyed at Niall, Tom opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to come up with anything sensible to say. After a moment he forgets about the sensible, trying to say anything at all. It feels like his brain froze. When Niall sends him a glance, Tom finally stutters, “I… What you just— You mean—?”

“What I mean,” Niall lets out a shaky chuckle and turns back to face Tom. “Is that I’ve been fancying you for quite a while and I have no idea why I am telling you this now but if you don’t believe I am the crying type, I’m probably gonna prove you wrong if you say no. That’s not emotional blackmail though, in case you were wondering, so no pressure.”

Tom shakes his head in astonishment and a surprised laugh escapes his mouth. “Shut up,” he says fondly.

“I’m trying, it’s the anxiety talking.”

Instead of answering, Tom cups Niall’s face in his hands and pulls him closer. His smile makes it hard to place a kiss on Niall’s lips but he eventually manages to do that. Niall leans away, just a bit and blinks, his face still so close that Tom could count his freckles if his eyes weren’t skipping from his eyes to his lips and back. A slow, bright smile blooms on Niall’s face and he moves his hand so his thumb traces the line of Tom’s jaw when they kiss again. And again. Tom tries to shift on the couch to get a better angle, but he hisses in pain when he accidentally moves his ankle. 

“See?” Niall pulls away after one more kiss. “This is what I meant when I said you’re complicating things.”

His dimpled smile and fondness in his eyes make it obvious that he is far from being serious. Trying to safely move his leg into the previous position, Tom laughs and shakes his head.

“I think you’re starting off on the wrong foot blaming me like this already, Horan.”

“Well, I can make it up to you by making sure you’ll soon be able to go for that date with me, Holland. And by providing more smooches along the way.” Niall says.

“Smooches?” Tom raises an eyebrow at the word choice.

“Loads of them,” Niall grins, leaning towards Tom again.


End file.
